Page 24 of You're Not My Mate

She had thought about going to Alpha and offering Graham a chance to stay at her home. He’d not gone feral while being in their company, and if he did, Rose knew how to handle him.

Taking a sip of her drink, she saw Rocco advancing toward her. It had been a few days since their date. She had only seen him in passing. The Poison Wolves MC were doing a lot more perimeter checks, and guarding. The beta team were being used around the main town, keeping everyone safe.

“Evening,” Rose said, letting him know she had seen him.

“It’s not safe for you to just sit out on your porch,” Rocco said.

“You guys are doing perimeter checks every chance you get and you’re telling me it’s not safe.”

He opened her small gate and stepped through. Rose couldn’t help but smile at how delicate he was being. She’d been there when her father had installed the gate for her mother. She had always wanted a little picket fence. As a joke, he had built something very small, which meant most people could just step right over it. No one did, though. They always bent down, opened it, and stepped through. Even Rose, after her parents’ passing, always took the time to open it.

Lifting her head, she looked up at an advancing Rocco.

“You know, you didn’t ask if you could come on in,” she said. “You’ve just invited yourself.”

“May I come in?” he asked.

She laughed. “Sure. You want some lemonade? It won’t be long before I’m doing something with pumpkin.”

She had already harvested twenty pumpkins. Several of which had been roasted and mashed, before putting into cans or frozen. She loved pumpkin puree, and used it a lot.

“Yeah, I’ll have a glass of lemonade.”

“How’s Graham?” she asked, wanting to keep the conversation rather than allow it to go quiet.

Quiet with Rocco always felt uncomfortable and reminded her how bad they both were at being each other’s mate.

Her parents were always able to fill the silence. Nothing ever seemed to bother them. They were always in constant control.

“He’s fine.”

Rose pressed her lips together as she was tempted to ask him if he thought bringing him here would be a good idea, but she’d go to Alpha first.

“Thank you,” Rocco said and he took a spot beside her on the bench. She felt the warmth coming off him, so she didn’t offer him her blanket. “It’s going to be a cold winter.”

“That it is.”

“I’ve not seen you around for a bit,” he said.

She smiled at him. “It has been busy. As usual, I’ve been tending to the garden. A few jobs arrived at town that I was needed for, and then I’ve been spending time with Graham. I don’t think he’s going to turn.”

“I’m not trying to be doom and gloom, but it is going to happen,” Rocco said.

“You truly believe that?” Rose asked.

“I’ve gotten my hopes up not too long ago, only to have them dashed. Trust me, I don’t want to believe it, but I’m waiting for the moment when he turns.”

Rose felt the sadness envelop her. “I don’t like that. All he was trying to do was make sure people didn’t feel the loss of their dogs. He was trying to do something good, and a stupid doctor did this to him.”

She rested her head on Rocco’s shoulder, and it felt goodto lean on him. She didn’t know what to expect. When he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close, she was surprised. Then he kissed the top of her head.

“I know,” he said.

Rose had never been kissed. That is what she admitted to Graham the last time she sat with him. It was why she was a little obsessed when it came to the prospect of her mate finally kissing her. She and Rocco hadn’t kissed.

Closing her eyes, she allowed her wolf to enjoy the moment. They did still struggle. Part of her wanted to kick his ass, beat the crap out of him, and ignore him. Another part of her, the one she couldn’t deny, craved rubbing her body over his. It was insane.

“I’m sorry,” Rocco said.

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